JAPAN Law and Practice Contributed by: Junichi Ueda, Etsuko Hara, Nobuto Shirane, Takahiro Hayase, Yutaka Shimoo and Miki Goto, Anderson Mori & Tomotsune
Trade Union Under the Constitution, workers have the right to: • form and join unions; • bargain collectively through the unions to which they belong; and • engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection (Article 28 of the Constitution). A union may represent its members’ interests in bargaining with their employer(s) in relation to their working conditions or other treatment of those members. A union does not need authori - sation from administrative agencies to represent its members in bargaining with their employer(s). If a union requests a collective bargaining ses - sion, the employer may not reject that request without a reasonable cause (Article 7, item 2 of the LUA). 5. Tax Law 5.1 Taxes Applicable to Employees/ Employers Employees are subject to income tax and local inhabitant tax in relation to their salary, and their employers must pay the taxes to national and local governments. For the purpose of Japanese income tax, an indi - vidual (including an employee) is categorised as: • a permanent resident; • a non-permanent resident; or • a non-resident.
company transfers), offering voluntary res - ignation with a certain amount of severance compensation, and reducing other operating costs. • The selection of employees for termina - tion was conducted in a fair manner and in accordance with a reasonable and objective standard established by the employer. In other words, the selection criteria must be fair and rational, and must not be based on the employees’ gender, membership of a trade union, race, creed, or any other discriminatory reason. • Sincere attempts at discussion or negotiation were undertaken, either with employees or their representatives (including a trade union, if applicable), but were unsuccessful. The regulations regarding notice period and monetary compensation are the same as those applicable to unilateral dismissal due to redun - dancies. 4.5 Employee Representations Employee Representative As explained in 4.2 Characteristics of Employ- ment Contracts , when an employer estab - lishes the rules of employment, the employer must obtain a written opinion of the majority trade union (or, if such a union does not exist, of the employee representative). Similarly, if an employer intends to execute certain labour man - agement agreements (eg, an Article 36 agree - ment), these agreements must be executed with the majority trade union (or, if such a union does not exist, with the employee representative). An employee representative must be elected by a majority vote or majority consent of the employ - ees.
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